I am retired and have been doing a lot of hiking with my dog Kelley. Kelley has done all the peaks in Acadia National Park as well as those in Camden and the Donnell Pond and Monteville area. We have also done Big and Little Moose, Petit Manan and the Cutler Coast. We hope that other hikers will share hikes they have enjoyed.

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Friday, August 10, 2012

8/9/12 Marsh Island Natural Area

Hot day and an early dental appointment so no early start. We headed for nearby Orono and this property of the Orono Land Trust.

This White Admiral would not give me the pose I wanted

We followed the trail from the end of Penobscot St. , through Peter's Field, and on to the river. The marshes had all dried up and the bank of the Penobscot is about 20 feet above the river here but we managed to work our way down to it so Kelley could get a nice swim

On the way back we attempted to reach the pond but once again were foiled by the confusing trails and just hiked back to where we started from.

We then walked down to the river for one last swim

And one last insect.

Not a long hike- 1 1/2 hours- but pleasant - it seemed like enough as we were both feeling the heat.

4 comments:

HI John...The river looks lovely, so good to see Kelley in for a swim or two ; ]!Trying to catch those butterflies is not easy, they can give you a run around and not fun on a hot day, but it is a nice one just the same!The leaves on the branch is like a piece of art..Have a good weekend!Grace

John, it's so darn awesome that you and Kelly can hike very day and more importantly you DO hike everyday. I enjoy when others take advantage of the beautiful surroundings. Heck we're going to drive 12 hours to get up there for some good walks! haha

Hi Julie- thanks again for commenting. We have to hike because of Kelley's arthritis in her back knees. Read her story at the top of the blog- right now she is doing well with 2- 3 hours of exercise per day. Doesn't hurt me either.

Kelley

Kelley was purchased along with two cats to be companions in a nursing home my wife owned. It became evident that she had a problem with her back legs and had pain. The vet said she had arthritis and she needed to lose weight and get lots of exercise so she came home and we gradually began hiking and put her on a diet. She improved to the point that she had no more pain and had an almost normal gait. When Mary left us we dealt with it by doing even more hiking and immersing ourselves in nature. Kelley did all of the peaks at Acadia as well as most others within a couple of hours of home. And I lost about 20 pounds. She loves to hike and will go as long as I will.

Kelley Update

A bit about how Kelley has been doing. You may be wondering why we are doing shorter and less strenuous hikes. In the story about Kelley above I indicate that the problem with her legs had pretty much been resolved. At the end of August last year I broke my ankle coming down from Dorr Mtn. and was not able to hike for 3 months and then we had a hard winter. This spring Kelley had a return of the arthritis problem in her back legs. She had to go back on medication and we could do little serious hiking. I think she lost some of the strength the vet thought was compensating for her problem. We have been building up the length of our hikes and Kelley is doing better and her medications have been cut way back. I am optimistic at this point that we will get back to the level we had reached before I broke my ankle.

Kelley Update II

Kelley has had a mixture of good days and not so good but overall is doing better. Today ( 10/17) we did a strenuous hike and she was happy and energetic and seems to have tolerated it well, showing no lameness when we got home. I continue to be optimistic - she loves the hiking so much.

Kelley Update 12/31/11

Kelley is doing well, hardly ever exhibits lameness or needs pain medication. She has been very excited the few times we got snow as she really loves to run in it. She seems also to have no problem with cold and is eager to be out in the woods whatever the weather.

1/24/12

Kelley continues to do well with slightly increased mileage. She seems better the more we do.

8/8/15 Update

It's been quite awhile between updates. Kelley is now 8 years old and does not seem to have the limberness she had achieved or the endurance. Occassionaly she lets me know she doesn't want to hike and we have a day off. We have also cut down the time per hike and I have been trying different times and hikes to find the best hikes/time so that she gets her needed exercise but doesn't overdo it. I wish she could talk. We still get out most days and right now an hour and a half seems about right but it's a continuing process.